Credentials include identification cards, driver's licenses, passports, and other valuable documents. Such credentials are formed from credential substrates including paper substrates, plastic substrates, cards and other materials. Such credentials generally include printed information, such as a photo, account numbers, identification numbers, and other personal information that is printed on the credential substrates using a print consumable, such as ink and ribbon. A secure overlaminate or security label may also be laminated to the surfaces of the credential substrate to protect the printed surfaces from damage or provide a security feature (e.g., hologram). Additionally, credentials can include data that is encoded in a smartcard chip, a magnetic stripe, or a barcode, for example.
Credential manufacturing systems or credential production systems generally include at least one credential processing device that processes a credential substrate to perform at least one step in forming the final credential product. Such credential processing devices include, for example, printing devices for printing images to the credential substrate, laminating devices for laminating an overlaminate to the credential substrate, devices for attaching labels, and encoding devices for encoding data to the substrate. Credential production devices process a credential substrate in response to a credential processing job generated by a credential producing application. The credential processing job generally defines the printing, laminating, attaching and/or encoding processes that are to be performed by the credential manufacturing device on the credential substrate.
Preventing the unauthorized use of credential manufacturing systems to produce unauthorized credentials is important in the processing of credential substrates. One such way of preventing the unauthorized use of credential manufacturing systems is to require the use of customized consumable supplies having limited use with only specifically authorized credential production devices, such as disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0216826 assigned to Fargo Electronics, Inc. of Eden Prairie, Minn. Such a limitation on the use of the customized supplies can prevent a counterfeiter from seizing the supplies and using them with an unauthorized credential production device to produce counterfeit credentials.
While such customized supplies can provide a sound defense to counterfeiting by those who do not have access to the credential manufacturing system that is authorized for use with the stolen customized credentials, the customized supplies cannot prevent unauthorized credential production from those that have access to the authorized credential manufacturing system. Thus, for example, an employee of a company who has access to both the customized supplies and the corresponding authorized credential manufacturing system could potentially make an unauthorized credential.
Embodiments of the present invention provide solutions to these and other problems, and offer other advantages over the prior art.